It’s no secret in Westminster that Philip Hammond’s idea of the best Brexit possible is one that keeps Britain close to the EU. The Chancellor spent the last year issuing dire prophecies about the impact of a hard Brexit and his Treasury forecasts have become infamous for spelling out the doom and gloom of no deal.
But are Hammond’s Project Fear warnings catching on? Mr Steerpike can reveal, after the Treasury released documents under the Freedom of Information Act, that Hammond met with several business bigwigs last year, only for them to issue similarly dire Brexit assessments shortly afterwards.
Mr S is happy to present them to you now:
Airbus
On 9 January last year, Hammond attended a swanky New Year’s reception hosted by Airbus at The Cinnamon Club in Westminster. Less than a week later the CEO, Thomas Enders, warned the country that ‘the wreckage that President Trump will leave after four or eight years in the White House will be easier to repair than the exit of the UK from the EU’.
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